Keith Thornton, New York, USA. More commonly known as Kool Keith while a member of groundbreaking New York, US rap group the Ultramagnetic MCs, Thornton has also travelled under a variety of other pseudonyms - Dr. Dooom, Poppa Large, the Reverend Tom, Sinister 6000, Big Willie Smith and Mr. Gerbik. In the mid-90s, and now based in Los Angeles, Thornton unveiled his lat
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This Bronx, New York, USA-based four-piece rap troupe incorporated the best traditions of jazz and funk in their polished, rhythmic style. Having worked with Boogie Down Productions KRS-One among many others, the Ultramagnetic MCs earned their reputation at the forefront of rap, pioneering the use of the sampler in hip-hop. They comprised Maurice Smith (aka Moe Love
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Paul E. Huston, 2 April 1967, Amityville, Long Island, New York, USA. Alongside Daddy-O, Prince Paul is the second of Stetsasonics founding members to enjoy notable extra-curricular activities. Similarly his production credits take pride of place in his list of achievements. Probably his proudest moment came in helming De La Souls 1989 classic 3 Feet High And Ris
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Jeffrey Haynes, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This Berkley, California-based rapper draws influence from hip-hop illuminati such as Gang Starr rapper Guru, KRS-One, Rakim and, most pointedly, Public Enemys Chuck D. and sets peers such as Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox and El-P as his benchmarks, to create hip-hop that is funky and political. Haynes is part of the Rebel Alliance
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Derrick Murphy, 29 December 1968, New Rochelle, New York, USA. Sadat X initially rose to prominence as a member of Brand Nubian, one of the most politicized and controversial rap acts of the 90s. Having worked on three high-impact albums with that group, All For One, In God We Trust and Everything Is Everything, he elected to turn solo in the mid-90s. His debut record for RC
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Brooklyn, New York, USA-based outfit, named after the famous gun-making duo, Smif N Wessun arrived as the second act on Nervous Records subsidiary, Wreck, in 1993. Rappers Tek and Steele first broke vinyl cover with two tracks, Black Smif n Wessun and U Da Man, housed on Black Moons Enta Da Stage album. The association with the latter began w
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Jean-Jacques Cadet, 1976, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Hip-hop artist J-Live is probably better equipped at rhymes and raps than the average performer as he is a former junior high school English teacher. He began rapping at the age of 12, eventually attending college and interning at Rawshack Records simultaneously. Paying the bills with his aforementioned teaching job, J-Live
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Lawrence Krisna Parker, 20 August 1965, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. The kingpin of Boogie Down Productions and a genuine hip-hop pioneer, at the peak of his career in the late 80s and early 90s KRS-Ones standing was reflected not only in terms of his music, but also his lecture tours of the USA, appearing at Yale, Harvard, and countless other institutions
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Duval Clear, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Raised in Brooklyn, Masta Ace became a hip-hop DJ in the 70s before adjusting to MC status by 1983. He won a rapping competition two years later which earned him studio time with producer Marley Marl, before a collegiate interlude followed. He contributed to the In Control Volume 1 set by Marl, and the latters label,
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Antonio M. Hardy, 10 September 1968, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Self-styled black gentleman vampire, whose KANE moniker is an acronym for King Asiatic Nobodys Equal. Kane followed his cousin into hip-hop by rapping in front of a beatbox for his first shows on Long Island, New York. Aided by his DJ Mr Cee, he has released several albums of laconic, fully reali
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Reginald Noble, 17 April 1970, Newark, New Jersey, USA. Inventive and witty US rapper whose 1992 debut Whut? Thee Album broke into the US Top 50, although it failed to get a UK release until much later in the year. Enshrining the new ethos of cannabis as the drug of choice (How To Roll A Blunt), there was also room for the traditional braggadocio (A Day Of
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